OS Educational Technology News
April 2016
This issue of the newsletter contains a reminder about several upcoming professional learning events, information about applying for a MACUL grant, an informative interview on the topic of copyright, details about free resources for Civics education, a free webinar for students with Oceanographer Dr. Sylvia Earle on protecting Earth's oceans, information about updates to the Kids InfoBits database on MeL, and links to weather-related content on Discovery Streaming.
~Laura
Don't Forget to Register for Spring Professional Learning Opportunities!
EdCamp
Date: Saturday, April 23, 2016 from 9:00 AM - 2:00 PM
Location: Lamphere High School
Cost: FREE!! (Food trucks will be available at lunchtime.)
Description: EdCamps are professional development opportunities that are created by teachers for teachers, but all people who are stakeholders in education are welcome. If you're a teacher, administrator, education student, or simply someone with a genuine interest in teaching and learning, please join us. Learn more about EdCamps at: http://edcamp.org
Learning with iPads
Date: Wednesday, May 4, 2016 from 8:30 AM - 2:45 PM
Cost: $20 in Oakland County / $40 out of Oakland County (Lunch will be provided.)
Instructor: Laura Cummings, Educational Technology Consultant
Grade Level: K-12 elementary, middle school, and high school teachers; media specialists; and other interested educators
SCECHs: 5
Description: iPads make a great addition to the classroom. iPads not only facilitate creative and collaborative learning opportunities for your students, they also provide great tools for publishing student work and sharing information with parents. In this workshop, you will review examples of students projects that can be often be used as formative or summative assessments. Hands on activities will give you plenty of time to use the same apps to create projects of your own. You will return to your classroom ready to use the apps and projects with your students! If you and your students have access to iPads, you won’t want to miss this workshop! Bring your own iPad or use one of ours.
Note: Up to $100 in substitute reimbursement is available for Oakland County public school educators who attend this workshop.
To register, click here!
Creating and Collaborating with Google Drive
Date: Tuesday, May 24, 2016 from 8:30 AM - 2:45 PM
Cost: $20 in Oakland County / $40 out of Oakland County (Lunch will be provided.)
Instructor: Laura Cummings, Educational Technology Consultant
Grade Level: K-12 elementary, middle school, and high school teachers; media specialists; and other interested educators
SCECHs: 5
Description: In this workshop we will spend time with several of the Google Drive Apps, including Documents, Slides and Drawings, looking at how they can be used to create artifacts and how they can be used for collaboration purposes. We will review the basics for each app and then dive into tips & tricks even long time Google Drive users often don’t know about. Classroom examples will be shared and participants will have time to work with each of the featured apps to create their own artifacts. Bring your own laptop or use one of ours. If you bring your own, please have the Chrome browser installed. Everyone should come with their Google accounts set up and ready to use.
Note: Up to $100 in substitute reimbursement is available for Oakland County public school educators who attend this workshop.
To register, click here!
Discovery Education Spring VirtCon
There is still time to register for the Discovery Education Spring VirtCon 2016 being held on Saturday, April 16 from 9 AM - 4 PM!
VirtCon is Discovery Education's bi-annual, virtual conference that brings educators together for cutting-edge keynotes, thought-provoking presentations, and engaging discussions all from the comfort of your own home. This spring the conference will focus on Powerful Practices and explore themes around personalized learning, formative assessment, and culturally responsive classrooms.
To learn more about the event speakers and topics, click here.
To register, click here. Note: Registered participants will have access to the recordings for all sessions!
Apply for a MACUL Grant!
Submit a Grant Proposal to MACUL to get up to $1500 for your classroom! The purpose of the grants is to encourage and support MACUL members interested in promoting effective instructional uses of the computer or related-equipment. Grants will be awarded for projects that meet an educational need or provide a unique technology integration in an education environment. Applications must be submitted online by 5:00 pm on Monday, May 16, 2016.
Grant Worksheet - Use the worksheet to create your answers for the grant. When ready, copy and paste the answers into the application form and submit.
Grant Rubric - Check your answers with the rubric to make sure you have fully answered the question.
Grant Application - Grant Limit per Application: $1,500. MACUL members who are classroom teachers, coordinators, administrators, or higher education personnel are eligible to apply.
Note: You may not apply if you have received a MACUL Grant within the last two years.
Copyright: What Teachers and Students Should Know
Matt Miller, of Ditch that Textbook fame and recently in Michigan as a featured speaker at MACUL Conference 2016, recorded an interview with Kristina Peters, a digital learning specialist for the Nebraska Department of Education, on the topic of copyright, licensing and the essentials that teachers and students should know. This interview is VERY informative, easy to watch, and well worth the 50+ minutes it takes to view it.
iCivics - Quality FREE Resources
iCivics is a non-profit organization founded and led by Justice Sandra Day O'Connor that provides interactive, engaging, learning resources on a variety of civics topics FREE of charge! The free resources include print-and-go lesson plans, award-winning games, and digital interactives. Teachers can easily set up classes and monitor their students work and progress with assigned activities.
The iCivics games place students in different civic roles and give them agency to address real-world problems and issues. They are rooted in clear learning objectives and integrated with lesson plans and support materials. Especially timely for this presidential election year is the game "Win the White House." iCivics games are designed with middle school students in mind, but they have been used with success by students from 3rd grade all the way through high school and community college. Most games can be completed in a class period. iCivics provides state and Common Core standards alignment for grades 6-12.
The iCivics curriculum is grouped into topical units that align to state and Common Core standards. iCivics supports individual, small group, and whole-class learning across a variety of settings. With a mix of readings, activities, discussions and games, the resources introduce and explain complex concepts. Drafting Board offers students the opportunity to learn and develop argumentative writing skills in a scaffolded digital environment.
Prepare to Celebrate Earth Day 2016 with Free Webinar for Students on Protecting Earth's Oceans
Earth Day Special: TFK Talks to Dr. Sylvia Earle!
Presented by Oceanographer Dr. Sylvia Earle, with Jaime Joyce, Assistant Managing Editor, Education, TIME For Kids, and Laura Blackburn, Associate Editor, TIME For Kids
Tuesday, Apr. 19 at 12 p.m. Eastern Time
Grade Level: K-8
In this free webinar, students will hear from oceanographer, explorer, and conservationist Dr. Sylvia Earle, who has worked tirelessly to protect the planet's oceans. Over the course of her more-than-50-year career, Dr. Earle has led more than 100 expeditions and has logged more than 7,000 hours—nearly 292 full days—of underwater study. She founded the Sylvia Earle Alliance and Mission Blue to ignite support for the protection of "hope spots"—special places that are vital to the health of the ocean. Mission Blue works with partners around the globe to increase public awareness of the importance of supporting marine environments. Dr. Earle is also the subject of the Emmy Award–winning Netflix documentary Mission Blue.
During her presentation, Dr. Earle will report on her career-long effort to understand and protect the world's oceans. She will also answer questions from students and teachers. Submit a question from your class when you register. Additional questions can also be submitted here.
TFK editors will provide participants with background information on Dr. Earle's work as an oceanographer and conservationist. They will also provide background information about the world's oceans. Additionally, TFK will provide printable worksheets, graphic organizers, and a reading list, to support learning about Dr. Earle's research and mission.
Enhancements to Kids InfoBits on Michigan eLibrary
Michigan eLibrary databases partner Gale Cengage Learning recently released some enhancements to features in Kids InfoBits. Easy access to the Merriam Webster Elementary Dictionary is now included and found at the top of the search screen.
Click on the “More” option (right side) to open up the tool bar where you will find the Dictionary and additional items like Educator Resources, Help, Title List, Search History, Highlights and Notes, and My Folder. For the Dictionary, students just type in the word they’re curious about and a standard dictionary entry displays which includes the pronunciation, part of speech, and definition.
Also new is “Biographies” as a content type. When searching for an individual, the results will highlight biographical content and at the top of an article brief information will be listed stating birth/death, other names, nationality, and occupation.
Michigan residents or Michigan library access only.
Weather-related Content from Discovery Streaming
Sound Effect: Weather: Rain: Thunder: Heavy Rain with Thunder Rumble and Wind Thunderstorm - Grades K-2
A single note from a song can take us back in time and the creak of a darkened home can send our hearts racing. Though sound is directly related to our sense of hearing, it also can create mental images. Use the strategy "Did You Hear That?!?" as you play the sound effect of a rain storm to engage students in the writing process.
Exploration: Weather Patterns - Grades 3-5
How does your news channel predict the daily weather? Scientists use weather data to find weather patterns. Maps help them to use data and predict the weather changes for the next day or week. Have students use this exploration to learn about different type of weather fronts. Expand the activity by allowing students to create their own weather reports for your school.
Board: Winter Storms - Grades 6-8
Discuss with students how their family prepares for the weather related emergencies. Review and share this student created Board to inform students how to prepare for winter storms. Have students create their own boards to prepare for different types of natural disasters that may impact your community.
Content Collection: Weather Wizard Hands-On - Grades 9-12
Have students join meteorologist Mark Elliot as he conducts hands-on experiments to demonstrate the science behind common weather phenomena. Then have students use the resources available in this Content Collection to explore the question "What elements impact weather?"
Must have Discovery Streaming subscription to access content.
Stay Up to Date with the Oakland Schools Information Center!
The Oakland Schools Information Center Newsletter contains information on apps, new books in the collection, MeL database features and other topics related to literature and technology. Past issues of the newsletter are archived on the Information Center web page.
If you would like to receive the IC Newsletter contact Judy Hauser at judy.hauser@oakland.k12.mi.us and ask to be added to the IC Newsletter list.
To receive more frequent updates from the Oakland Schools Information Center, be sure to follow the Oakland Schools IC Twitter feed at: https://twitter.com/osinfocenter
Oakland Schools Educational Technology Twitter posts can be found at: os_edtech
When you are posting to Twitter about things related to educational technology, don't forget to use the hashtag: #oakedtech
Using the hashtag will help all of us Oakland County educators, who are interested in the effective use of educational technology, to connect and better collaborate with each other.
Oakland Schools Educational Technology Consultants
Laura.Cummings@oakland.k12.mi.us
248-209-2283
Judy Nichols
Judith.Nichols@oakland.k12.mi.us
248-209-2080